LUKE CAGE Showrunner Reveals That Season 3 Would Have Brought Power Man "Full Circle"

Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has shed some light on what he had planned for the scrapped third season of the Netflix series, and promises that it would have brought the Hero for Fire full circle.

By JoshWilding - Feb 21, 2020 02:02 AM EST

Filed Under: Luke Cage

Season two of Luke Cage ended on a somewhat unsatisfying note after the titular hero decided that the only way to protect Harlem was to become a crime lord, something comic book fans were greatly disappointed by. Now, though, showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has offered some closure on the cancelled series by shedding some light on where things would have gone next for Power Man.

"It was crazy because we were hitting all these things that are happening in the press right now," he teases. "I can't on the record talk about what we had planned because, contractually, you know, I still don't want any Marvel assassins coming out of the woodwork to try to take me out. [Laughs] But what I can say is that we had a very good season planned, and it was one that I think would have brought Luke Cage as a character full circle."

Coker also went on to address how Luke's story ended, and while he clearly had to choose his words carefully, the executive producer pointed to that not being the Hero for Hire's permanent status quo.

"You see people online that were like, ‘Oh my god, I turned Luke into a gangster.’ They wouldn't be [saying that] if they had the opportunity to see all three seasons and see the directions Luke would have gone," Coker confirms. "I was always a Luke Cage fan, but I was probably, ultimately, a Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, Wolverine, X-Men Golden Era comic book fan, you know?"

"And it wasn't until Brian Michael Bendis rebooted Luke Cage within Jessica Jones - that [I felt liberated to] approach established characters within the Luke Cage universe from a different perspective."

It definitely would have been fun to see where Luke Cage went next, but all of these Marvel TV shows on Netflix ended abruptly, and that's left a lot of loose ends for fans to come to terms with. Rumours continue to swirl that Kevin Feige will one day reboot all of these characters, but their fate remains a mystery for the time being, and that's understandably disappointing for a variety of reasons.

To take a look at Luke Cage season 2's best Easter Eggs,
references, and cameos, hit the "Next" button below!

"Where's My Money, Honey?"

This is a pretty hardcore reference which comes in the sixth episode when Luke is attempting to rescue Piranha from Bushmaster's men. When the businessman/gangster points out that Luke is a "hero for hire," Power Man is quick to respond with, "Then where's my money, honey?" This line was pulled straight from Luke Cage: Hero for Hire #9 when Luke was hired by none other than Doctor Doom.

Meet Nightshade

One of the biggest shocks in season two comes when Mariah's daughter Tilda decides to poison her mother. However, she later learns that Harlem's Paradise has been left to Luke instead of her and the last time we see her, she's the spitting image of her comic book counterpart, Nightshade. Now, the signs are all pointing to a power struggle between the villain and Luke when season three airs!

Iron Fist Loves Pork

In one of the season's weirder references to what's come before, we get a throwback to the events of The Defenders when Luke and Danny meet for Chinese food. As you may recall, the team seeks refuge in the Royal Dragon Chinese restaurant in that series and Iron Fist made his love of pork clear much to the dismay of his fellow heroes. In Luke Cage, he does the same thing! I bet you didn't catch that.

Captain America

This is a pretty obscure reference but one fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will no doubt appreciate. When Bushmaster confronts Mariah, she says that he should basically leave sleeping dogs lie as some things are better off left dead or "frozen in the ice." That has to be a nod to Captain America and it seems highly likely that the villainous Harlem mobster isn't a fan of Steve Rogers!

Daughters Of The Dragon

Iron Fist's Colleen Wing makes a brief appearance in Luke Cage season two to help put Misty Knight back on the right track and while that sadly doesn't include forming the Daughters of the Dragon, we do at least get a taste of that when these two team up in a fantastic bar fight which sees them take down a gang of thugs. Is it too soon to start campaigning for a spinoff show for these kickass ladies?

Power Man

Luke is referred to as Power Man a few times in season two, including fairly early on by Claire. However, the coolest nod to his comic book moniker comes when D.W. shows off a new hoodie with the classic "Power Man" comic book logo on it and points out that "Power Man and Iron Fist" has a nice ring to it. When we're finally going to get that Heroes for Hire spinoff obviously isn't clear.

Night Nurse

By now, you obviously don't need us to tell you that Claire Temple is secretly Night Nurse but the show finds a fun way to tackle this when she and Luke get intimate to Gregory Isaacs' classic "Night Nurse" track. This is a fun nod to her comic book origins and while Claire's departure is actually welcomed (she's a chore to watch in those opening episodes), we'll no doubt see her again before too long.

Hell Up In Harlem

Look closely at one of D.W's many t-shirts in episode two and you'll notice that one features a mockup of Luke's battle with Diamondback from the season one finale along with the slogan, "Hell Up In Harlem: The Battle For Lennox Avenue." However, did you know that there was actually a 1973 blaxploitation movie titled Hell Up In Harlem and that this is a pretty awesome nod to that?

Bulletproof Love

During the opening few minutes of Luke Cage season two, a mural can be seen with an amazing illustration of Harlem's hero alongside a tag reading, "Bulletproof Love." This has to be a reference to the song which was written and performed by Method Man for the show's first season and Luke even mentions later on that the rapper (who made a cameo in season one) wrote a tune about him.

The Battle For New York

Once again, it appears as if Luke Cage is set in the past because there's no mention of the Sokovia Accords or Thanos' attack. Instead, we get yet another reference to the events of The Avengers when Misty Knight mentions how serious it is to be caught in possession of any weaponry tied to the "Incident." This makes the show feel extremely dated but we still get references to Donald Trump!

The Defenders

The events of The Defenders are very briefly touched on when Matt Murdock's sacrifice is mentioned and it's now clear that in the weeks (months?) which have passed since the events of that series, Daredevil hasn't resurfaced. On the plus side, we do get an appearance from Foggy Nelson and he's clearly moved on from his Nelson & Murdock days because he's a pretty high profile lawyer these days.

The Hulk

Desperate for money, Luke appears at one of Piranha's parties in order to get the cash he needs to settle a lawsuit. However, he's quickly hassled by some drunks, one of whom smashes a bottle over his head and asks, "Who's tougher, you or the green monster?" That's a pretty blatant nod to The Hulk and it's just a shame we'll probably never actually get to see Power Man cross paths with the Jade Giant.

The Godfather

In the closing moments of season two, Luke Cage takes over Harlem's Paradise and seemingly becomes a gangster in order to keep Harlem safe. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of nods to The Godfather here, including D.W. referring to him as "Luke Corleone" and the door closing on Misty just as it did in the classic movie. The question now is, is Power Man destined to ultimately become a villain in the MCU?

What did you guys think of Luke Cage season two? Did you catch any Easter Eggs we missed? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts on that and more in the comments section below.

LUKE CAGE Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker Reveals Episode Titles For Netflix's Scrapped Season 3

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47 Comments

1 2

bkmeijer2 - 2/21/2020, 2:49 AM

Nah, not for me. I made up in my head that Punisher came for Cage, Daredevil stopped him and together they fought Bullseye

bkmeijer2 - 2/21/2020, 3:44 AM

@TheJustinHammer - It's like Punisher comes for Cage and then Daredevil steps in and stops Punisher. Cage realises being a gangster doesn't work or something and then Daredevil and Punisher (without Cage) go after Bullseye. Thats my made up ending to the MNU

OmegaBlack13 - 2/21/2020, 8:39 AM

@TheJustinHammer - Lmao Punisher’s entire power is bullets Cage is the worst opponent for him to fight.

mastakilla39 - 2/21/2020, 9:07 AM

@OmegaBlack13 @TheJustinHammer - Don't doubt punisher, he has fought super powered people before in the comics and won. Luke cage might be bulletproof but not his eyes and internal organs. Punisher is a psychopath and he will do and use anything to win: knives in the eye, poison, flash/smoke grenades, etc.

If Luke Cage or any other super powered being underestimates Punisher, Punisher has a high chance of winning.

CaptCoulson - 2/21/2020, 3:07 AM

shit this just reminded me, I still haven't watched like at least the last 6 episodes of Punisher season 2 (a number of elements of the season were already disappointing to me, though the girl he was protecting was adorable AF) and not any of Jessica Jones season 3.

HeavyMetal4Life - 2/21/2020, 7:52 AM

@CaptCoulson - The last several episodes of Punisher season 2 returned the season to what it should have been more about. Yeah, the entire middle of the season was a bit underwhelming. If episode 10 is the one that tests the psychology of Frank Castle, its probably one of the best episodes out of those two seasons. And the final two episodes have some fantastic scenes with Pilgrim, the real MVP of the season.

And lol, I think most people have ignored JJ S3.

soberchimera - 2/21/2020, 10:56 AM

@CaptCoulson - I lost interest honestly, they dropped the ball on Jigsaw, the scandal with the gay son is 10-15 years too late, they try to humanize Frank too much. The showrunners just need to realize that the Punisher is basically an emotionless serial killer who was unleashed when his family was killed.

CaptCoulson - 2/21/2020, 11:28 AM

@HeavyMetal4Life - oh man and it just further sank in now, I genuinely can't even remember what was the issue I had with the first few eps of season 2, I guess that's how long it's been lol I wasn't hating the run overall, there was one significant, specific aspect that was really disappointing me, but I can't for the life of me now name it

Archgoat - 2/21/2020, 3:07 AM

Many people didn't like the ending but I think it's a shame that there will be no season 3. It was an interesting idea to have Power Man corrupted by power.

RageDriver2401 - 2/21/2020, 3:10 AM

Damn shame, the cancellation of LC, JJ, DD and Punisher. They were good superhero shows.

IF though can go [frick] itself.

tmp3 - 2/21/2020, 3:32 AM

@RageDriver2401 - Maybe the D+ shows can make up for it

GodHercules20 - 2/21/2020, 4:21 AM

Meh,Luke Cage is so boring in the TV show. In the comics and in Avengers EMH he was a badass

HeavyMetal4Life - 2/21/2020, 7:59 AM

Season 2 was so goddamn fun to watch, the best Marvel Netflix season after the 3 Daredevil ones.

blackandyellow - 2/21/2020, 8:07 AM

Most of Luke Cage was mind-numbingly boring but at least it wasn't an irredeemable piece of shit like Iron Fist.

1 2

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LUKE CAGE Showrunner Reveals That Season 3 Would Have Brought Power Man "Full Circle"

Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has shed some light on what he had planned for the scrapped third season of the Netflix series, and promises that it would have brought the Hero for Fire full circle.

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